David blain



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC DAVID BLAIN, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

DREDGE AND MINING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,215, dated April 24, 1883.

Application filed October 10,1882. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID-BLAIN, of the city of Toronto. in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have invented a certain new and useful Dredge and Mining-Machine, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to certain improve ments in deep-water-mining machines; and it consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, all of which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Figure l is a sectional elevation of apportion of a scow, showing the general arrangement of my (leep-water-mining apparatus. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of a cylindrical casing, showing the application of an Archimedean screw. Fig. tis a detail view of the rotary brush and suctionpipe.

In the drawings, A is a scow or bargevof any suitable size and construction, arranged to carry my deep-water-mining apparatus,.and

' to receive the material excavated from the bottom of the river or other body of water upon which the scow is carried.

B is a hollow cylindrical casing, supported on the end of the scow A and extending to the bottom of the water. In order to enable the adjustment of the length of this casing to suit the various depths of water, I arrange it in telescopic form, and provide suitable tackling for raising and lowering the segments forming the casing.

As the angle of the casing B may require to be altered, I hinge or otherwise attach it to the scow, so arranging the opening a, leading from the casinginto the scow, that the said opening will not be affected by the adjustment of the angle of the casing.

In Fig. 1, O is an ordinary propellers screw, and 1) its shaft. The screw 0 is placed at the bottom of its casing, while its shaft extends up to its top, the latter being carried in suitable bearings, as indicated.

E represents an engine and boiler arranged to operate the mining apparatus, causing the propeller to revolve by a belt, F, or other suitable mechanical contrivance.

G is a plow-shaped receiver attached to or forming part of theend of the casing B, and having an open-grated nose, G. When the casing B is lowered in position on the bottom of the river, as shown, the nose G is by suitable tackling, H, or otherwise, caused to dig into the material at the bottom of'the river.

. The material thus scooped up, falling through the grated nose, finds its way into the receiver G below and around the screw, which screw,

in revolving, churns the water and material.

thus admitted, causing the water to circulate freely through the material, thereby washing from the material the gold or other metal which falls into the amalgam-box I, placed at the bottom of the receiver G. Gold or other metal not thus Washed out is carried by the action of the screw to the upper end of the casing, where it is discharged through the opening a into the scow A, where it meets other amalgam -boxes arranged within the scow. By arranging the casing so that it can be thrown into a horizontal position while yet attached to the scow, the screw 0 may be utilized for the purpose of propelling the scow; but I think that, as a rule, it will be found preferable to apply a separate screw at the opposite end of the scow to that upon which the casing is fixed.

As I do not propose in this specification to claim any new process for separating the gold or other metal from the material excavated with it, it is not necessary now to enter into a description of the whole process of extracting the precious metal.

The main peculiarity of my mining apparatus is the fact that it not only excavates the material containing the gold, but also washes the'greatest proportionof the gold from the material at or near the bottom of the river without any manual labor other than that necessary to superintend the operation of the ma chinery.

In order to enable the excavator to have a wide lateral range, I so arrange the connection between it and the scow that it may be caused to travel laterally by drawing upon the tackling J, placed on either side of it, as shown.

After the major portion of theloose material on the bottom of the river has been removed by the action of the plow-ended casing audrevolving screw, lighter portions of the material containing valuable metal still remain on the bed of the river. With the view of collecting this lightermaterial, and, in fact, sweeping the bottom of the river, I provide a brush, K, placed on the end of the shaft passing through piping, L, which piping leads from the bottom of the river to a centrifugal pump, M, placed on top of the scow, and connected by bells or otherwise to the engine E. The shaft of the brush K is also connected to the engine, so that the brush shall be caused to revolve while the centrifugal pump is operating. The effect of this action will be that the material acted upon by the brush is drawn up through the suction-pipe L and discharged into the scow A, where the gold is extracted by the ordinary process,or by an improved process of my own, which I propose to describe in a future application.

In Fig. 3 I show an Archimedean screw arranged within the casing B. I useascrew of this description when it is desired to raise more of thematerial to be excavated than can be lifted by the action of the propeller-screw hereinbefore referred to. The Archimedean screw will carry everything excavated-by it to the top of the casing, whence it is discharged through the opening a into the scow. A casing provided with an Archimedean screw will constitute a very effective dredging-machine, being much more rapid in working than the spoon-dredge now in use, and will be found a very effective dredge.

In Fig. 4 I have taken a section through the suction-pipe L, showing the brush K for sweeping or agitating the lighter particles of earth to be drawn up the suction-pipe. It is ofcourse obvious that most any construction of brush and arrangement thereof in the suction-pipe may be used with about the same result, and it is not therefore necessary to enter into its details further than to say that I do not limit myself to any peculiar construction or number of brushes or suction-pipes, as more or less of them may be used, as desired, and the construction changed to meet the requirements of the case. The brush K has peculiar advantages over devices heretofore used in deepwater-mining machines. It is to be made sufficiently strong to stand the action of the water and substances to be agitated, and at the What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, with thescow and cylinder extending downwardly therefrom, and means, substantially as described, for elevating the lighter parts of earth and other particles to the upper end of said cylinder, of a receptacle located at the lower end of the cylinder to catch and hold the heavier particles, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the scow and cylinder extending downwardly therefrom, and a screw, 0, working in said cylinder, of a receptacle located at the lower end of the cylinder to catch and hold the heavier particles, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the cylinder B, screw 0, arranged in said cylinder,.and plowshaped receiver G, of the receptacle I, located at the lower end of the cylinder, and the scow A, communicating with said cylinder by a passage, a, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the cylinder B,

screw 0, arranged in said cylinder, and plowshaped receiver G, provided with a grated front, G, of the receptacle I, located at the lower end of the cylinder, and the scow A, communicating with said cylinder by a passage, 11, substantially as described. Y

5. In a deep-water-mining machine, a brush I constructed and arranged to sweep the bed of a river, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a deep-water-mining machine, abrush constructed and arranged to sweep the bed of ariver or other body of water for agitating the lighter parts of earth and other particles, in combination with suitable means for elevating said particles, substantially as described.

7. A brush, K, secured to the lower end of a rotary shaft extending down through a pipe, L, in combination with said shaft and pipe, up through which latter the agitated particles are elevated, as set forth.

8. The combination, with the adjustable and extensible cylinder 13, provided with a plowshaped nose, G, having a grated front, G, and the agitating and elevating screw 0, of the brush K, pipe L, and means for elevating the particles up through said pipe into the scow, substantially as set forth.

- D. BLAIN. Witnesses:

CHAS. O. BALDWIN, LEWIS TOMLINSON. 

